In March 2017, violent protests erupted across the country in response to a Supreme Court decision to strip the legislative branch of its powers. Amid an international outcry, President Nicolas Maduro reversed the decision, but it was too late. Thousands continued to take to the streets, calling for new elections. More than 100 people were killed in clashes with security forces.

The violence added to the ongoing economic and political crisis in Venezuela. Many Venezuelans spend more than 30 hours a week waiting in lines to shop, and are often confronted with empty shelves when they finally enter a store. President Maduro blames the crisis on US price speculation. The opposition, however, accuses the Socialist government of economic mismanagement.

The crisis has even affected health care in the oil-rich nation. Venezuelans often head to Colombia to collect medical supplies to send home, as seen in this picture. Hospitals across Venezuela have compared conditions to those seen only in war zones. As patient deaths rise, health officials have sounded the alarm on the rise of malaria and dengue fever.

By July 2017, Venezuela's pro-government Constituent Assembly was established. For observers, it had all the hallmarks of a power grab. The new body adopted the authority to pass legislation on a range of issues, effectively taking away the powers of Venezuela's elected congress, which was under the opposition's control. The move drew wide international condemnation.

In response to the political crisis, the United States and European Union imposed a series of sanctions against ruling officials. The US blacklisted members of the Constituent Assembly and froze all of Maduro's assets that are subject to US jurisdiction. The EU banned arms sales to the country.

In October 2017, Venezuela held two votes: regional elections and elections for governors, which were long overdue. The opposition boycotted the vote, but then split, as some candidates and small parties chose to participate. This caused a deep rift within Maduro's opponents. The government went on to sweep the vote, which detractors say was unfair and heavily favored the regime.

In November 2017, the oil-rich, cash-poor nation faced its day of reckoning. Credit ratings agencies declared Venezuela and its state-run oil company in "selective default." But Russia offered to restructure the South American country's debt to ensure Caracas pays its other creditors. US and EU sanctions, however, limited the chance of an agreement.

The National Assembly announced in January 2018 that it would grant Maduro's call for snap presidential elections. The electoral authority, CNE, held the elections on May 20. The EU, the US and 14 Latin American nations warned that they would not recognize the results. The mainstream MUD opposition alliance boycotted the vote, leaving only one possible outcome.

Maduro was re-elected to a second six-year term with about 68 percent of the vote. Turnout was only 46 percent, according to electoral authorities. However, the MUD opposition alliance put turnout at less than 30 percent. The Organization of American States (OAS) called the elections neither free nor fair.

But weeks into the new year, the situation took a drastic turn. On January 23, 2019, parliament president Juan Guaido declared himself interim president of Venezuela — a move that was quickly recognized by US President Donald Trump. Maduro called it a US-backed "coup." Days later, the US sanctioned Venezuela's state oil firm, while Guaido staked his claim on the country's foreign assets.

The 2018 winner, by the Venezuelan photographer Ronaldo Schemidt, shows a protester, Jose Victor Salazar Balza, on fire during violent clashes with riot police at a protest in Caracas against President Nicolas Maduro and his plans to consolidate his political power. Clashes broke out on May 3, 2017, and Salazar was set alight when the gas tank of a motorbike exploded. He survived.

A boat from Lagos Marina is steered through the canals of the Makoko community — an ancient fishing village that has grown into an enormous informal settlement — on the shores of Lagos Lagoon, in Nigeria's capital. Prime real estate along the lagoon waterfront is scarce, and there are moves to demolish communities such as Makoko and build luxury apartment blocks in their place.

The South African photographer Neil Aldridge won the Environment category for this picture of a young southern white rhino, who, blindfolded and drugged, waits after a long journey from South Africa to be released into the Botswana wilds as part of efforts to rebuild threatened rhino populations. Rhinos are killed by poachers for their horns, which are trafficked and sold illegally in Asia.

The winner of the Long-Term Projects-Stories category documents Hannah and Alena, two sisters who live in a bioenergy village of about 170 people in Waldviertel, an isolated rural area of Austria near the Czech border. Kogelman has been photographing Hannah and Alena since 2012. This image shows Alena and two young visitors in one of the barns of the self-sustaining village in 2014.

The winner of Sports category was taken in February 2017 and shows members of opposing teams, the Up’ards and Down’ards, fight for the ball during the historic annual Royal Shrovetide Football Match in Derbyshire, England. The game, reportedly played since the 17th century, involves hundreds of participants over two eight-hour periods. Rules stipulate that players may not murder their opponents.

The US photographer won the Nature category for this symbolic picture of a bald eagle feasting on meat scraps in the garbage bins of a supermarket in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Once close to extinction, the bald eagle has made a big comeback, especially in Alaska, where in some areas there's one eagle for every 10 people. Locally, the US's national bird is known as the "Dutch Harbor pigeon."

The 2013 World Press Photo of the year by Sweden's Paul Hansen. It shows 2-year-old Suhaib Hijazi and her 3-year-old brother, Muhammad, being carried to a Gaza City mosque by their brothers for their burial ceremony in 2012. The siblings, along with their father, were killed when the family house was destroyed by an Israeli missile strike.